Accalia hated the colder months.
She hated how the pack had to leave the warmth of their caves everyday to hunt for food that had become scare. She hated how the chilly air killed off the berries that she loved to eat and prevented them from coming back until much, much later. She hated how the pack had to travel what seemed like halfway across the world just to attend the biannual meeting that occurred between all the tribes. While the trip itself wasn't too bad as long as they did not run into some sort of altercation with an enemy tribe or some type of natural dilemma that slowed them down, Accalia did not like having to haul around their flimsy, makeshift homes that they used whenever they left their caves for a lengthy period of time. Everything was packed up and moved out and the only indication that someone had been in their caves was the embers of the leftover fires that were dying rather quickly in the frigid temperatures.
However, Accalia never voiced her true feelings about these things to anyone. If it got cold, the woman made sure that she picked extra berries right before they were all gone so she could enjoy them in the colder months and to make clothing that would keep her warm. In fact, she was wearing a warm jacket made of deer hide and stuffed with bird feathers at this very moment. It fit tight to her slim body, though it was not so tight that she could not move around freely in; although It didn't compare to sitting in front of a nice, toasty fire, it was better than nothing. A wolf never, ever complained; complaining showed weakness and weakness was not something Accalia wanted others to see when they looked at her. Plus, when you lived alone, you tended to keep your opinions to yourself.
Accalia was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts as her foot caught one of the many exposed tree roots that grew along the ground and she yelped in surprise, nearly falling in the process. She quickly recovered from her unexpected display of clumsiness and silently prayed to the Gods that it had gone unnoticed, but the woman soon heard someone snicker behind her, much to her dismay. "Accailia you'll never make it to the top hunters if you can barely walk without nearly falling on your face with every step." A dark haired male by the name of Ulric stated with an air of arrogance that made Accailia want to hurl a branch at him. He usually walked near the front with his father--who just happened to be the Alpha Wolf--so she assumed that he had purposely come back here just to mess with her. "I'll make it to the top hunters way before you or your poor attitude will." She replied, not bothering to even turn around and look at him, knowing that she had hit him where it hurt. Her statement was true, though. The only reason that Ulric had to hunt with others that were in the same ranking as Accailia was because of his all mighty attitude and arrogance. It was bound to get someone killed at the rate that he was going so his father had banned him from the top hunters until he got his act straight. Accailia has yet to see some improvement.
"You know, that's a low blow, even coming from you." Ulric practically snarled, though his facial expression held its usual over-confident smirk. "I don't know why since you're aware that its the--" Accailia sudden fell silent as a distinctive howl cut through the trees. Recognizing the signal, she stopped in her tracks and, in one fluent motion, she dropped her items into a neat pile and unsheathe her daggers from her belt before adopting a defensive stance. Everyone else around her was doing the same--dropping their bags, pulling out weapons, forming circles around the young and elderly-- until the area became deathly silent as the Wolf tribe waited anxiously for the 'unknown tribe' to approach. The Alpha Wolf is not able to tell who is approaching through his wolf calls but he can definitely let everyone know that someone was coming towards the pack.
At first, Accalia could see nothing in the area around her, nothing but bare trees and bushes along with a strange fog that clung low to the ground. Maybe it was a false alarm... the woman thought to herself though it was very rare that their leader was wrong. One minute passed by, then two, and she could hear the others shift impatiently in their area but their never broke their stance. They couldn't let down their guard until their leader told them it was okay to do so. Rustling could be heard in front of her and Accailia's eyes snapped in that direction while her body prepared to attack if needed. The rustling become louder until, finally, someone appeared. It was only then that the woman realized that they had managed to run into the Bear Tribe. Accalia knew that the pack was on good terms with the Bear tribe and did not feel particularly threatened. She assumed that her fellow tribe members felt the same way as they relaxed slightly, though they did not hide the fact that they had their weapons. They would not move until told so by their leader.
Meanwhile, Bleddyn the Alpha Wolf had approached the Bear Tribe's leader, though stopping a few feet away from in respect, while the rest of the pack stayed behind him on guard. He did not want to seem like a threat to their leader as Bleddyn was sure that they, too, were armed like his own tribe. "Jogdeir, old friend, it's been a while since we've spoken." He stated with a friendly smile and then gestured to his pack behind him. "They are armed, though they will not attack unless I instruct them to, but I do not intend on doing so. We have always been on good terms with your people and I do not want to sever that bond. This will be a peaceful gathering." Bleddyn announced loud enough for both tribes to here before holding out his hand to Jodgdeir. Shaking hands was a definite way of showing that what someone said was the truth and they would not go back on their word, especially when it involves two different tribes. If they do, they are considered liars and will be shunned by both their own and the opposing tribe as well. However, if he did not shake his hand, then that would be a different story...